The authors of this report would like to thank colleagues in the South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) for their contributions, insights and engagement throughout the development of this Education Policy Perspective (EPP). In particular, the team would like to thank Mark Chetty (Director for National Assessment) and colleagues Shozi Nonhlanhla, Bridget Mthembu, Anita Govan and Dikeledi Mathebe from the National Assessment unit. The team would also like to thank the Gauteng and Mpumalanga GEC co‑ordinators for facilitating the OECD team’s engagement with schools and stakeholders. We are particularly grateful to the principals, teachers and learners from the schools visited by the OECD team during the review.
This EPP is an output of the OECD Education Policy Committee’s work on policy reviews, implementation support and technical assistance, and was undertaken by Rebecca Frankum and Hannah Kitchen of the Transitions in Upper Secondary Education team. We would like to thank our colleague Marco Kools for his input, and Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, and Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division in the Directorate for Education and Skills, for their guidance and support. We are also grateful to Bethan Renwick and Jennifer Cannon for providing administrative support.